Put um up 2014

Wow 2014 it's only February and you've already been kinda jerky.

It seem lately every time I turn around bright eyes that something else is punching me in the face.

I feel like I've been in survival mood this whole year and completely not up to anything, feeling like a craptastict wife and mother.

Guess what 2014 I'm no victim and so so I don't care and other tough stuff.

Also 2014 I know what's important!

My relationship with God

My Husband

My kids

My family

My friends

and as long as all these people know that I love them and I'm trying my hardest and

this crappy world of trail after trail that has been 2014 won't stop me from becoming just who I am meant to be, then ALL will be fine. 

I am thankful for the refiners fire.

hairspray now for more then hair

 Yesterday Evie and Milo where in my office at work for 2 min and managed to 

wright with pen all over the dry erase board.

Seriously Crappy of them.

At first I was afraid I would have to pay like $10 to buy a new one.

Demon children are always skimming my wallet.

But then I remembered this magic cleaning trick!!!!

All you need is hairspray!

Just spray it on, wipe off and presto it's all clean.

My $10 just gave me a high five.

Now I can spend it on something important like 10 Dr Peppers from McDonald's.

Book's Check Em Out

I love recipe books!!!!  Come on who doesn't?

When I saw The Romney Family Table, I knew I wanted it,

and let Justin know that I wanted it and left hints it would make a great Christmas present.

Somehow my hints feel short and this was not waiting for me under the tree.

I did get the new gym shoes, that I picked out and bought and put under the tree.

Anyway, I saw that it was on sale for half off at Desert Book!!!!

So I ran over and picked up my very own copy.

I can't wait to try out so many of the recipes and I love all the pictures of the Romney family.

  I'm sure that they will be feature on Menu Thursday.

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As a bonus! When I was searching for an image, 

I was lucky enough to stumble along to The Super Hero Cookbook.

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I'm guessing that this beauty would have made it under the tree.

  

Menu Thursday

I am changing things up a bit in the hopes of saving a buck or two.

In stead of shopping weekly I am going to stretch it out to every 10 days.

I have a few friends who do this and it works great for them.

One of them gets paid once a month and and some that get paid every 2 weeks.

I am hoping that one day I'll find the secret code to this whole grocery shopping thing.

Who knows maybe this is it.

I am keeping my budget the same but just stretching out how long it has to last by 3 days.

$175 for 7 days is about $25 a day but $175 for 10 days is $17.50 a day.

Which is a difference of  $7.50 a day.

So my monthly food budget of $700 is now $525, which saves $175.

Which might not sound like a bunch, but its $2100 a year, come on that's Christmas, or a vacation.

All that money just for adding 3 days to my budget. Crazy!

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Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken

I'm going to double it and freeze half of it for later.

PW Sloppy Joes

Also going to double and freeze this as well.

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Stir Fry 

Shredded Beef Taco's

Pizza

Spaghetti

BBQ Chicken 

Breakfast 

Left Overs

More Awesome

Lately I have been think a lot about self improvement.

I feel like while yes I am awesome, I have stayed at this level of awesome for far to long.

I want to teach my chicklets that life is about continual learning.

That tomorrow is a new day and a new chance to live a better life. 

All of the sudden I have older kids, even teenagers and I'm all like crap, you need to know so much so soon.

Like how to cook and laundry and finances, running a house hold.

I suck at all these things, so I am on a quest to improve myself so that I can have

children who move away and don't move back into my basement because I didn't teach them real life skillz.

Lets face it Dallin is 15 and in 3 short years he will be off, who knows where serving a mission and Mike will be right after him, were not ready!!!  Lauren is 11 so as I'm learning and helping her older brothers, she'll be right there learning as well.  Who am I kidding, she is already a better homemaker then me, she came out responsible, loving and organized.  Maybe she can teach us a thing or 2.

Mostly I worry about their relationship with our Savior and their Heavenly Father.

Do they know how important they are in our life's?

My hope is that as I learn and grow, I will have insight into how to teach them and help them become the people the Lord expects them to be.  That as they watch Justin and I work on our marriage, they will see what a loving couple should look like.  A marriage with the Lord at the center.

Here's to growth and not being afraid of looking into your own nitty gritty.

Here's to five wonderful and amazing chicklets, that I am blessed to help raise and the always devilishly handsome man who is my partner in all this craziness.